Two arrested after theft of £32m Van Gogh

Published on Sunday 22 August 2010 00:33

A VAN Gogh painting valued at £32 million was stolen from a Cairo museum yesterday and recovered at the city's airport hours later.

Two Italians were arrested at Cairo International last night for attempting to smuggle Poppy Flowers out of the country.

The painting, also known as Vase With Flowers had been cut from its frame at the city's Mahmoud Khalil Museum on the banks of the river Nile yesterday afternoon.

Egypt's culture minister Farouk Hosni said security services were able to track down the young man and woman because just 11 visitors had entered the museum yesterday. They were seen by a employee who saw them visiting the toilet before quickly leaving.

It is the second time this painting has been stolen from the Khalil museum. Thieves first made off with the canvas in 1978, before authorities recovered it two years later in Kuwait. Officials have never fully revealed the details of the first theft. When it was recovered, Egypt's interior minister said three Egyptians involved in the heist had been arrested and informed police where the canvas was hidden. Authorities never reported whether the thieves were charged or tried.